Students who skipped Class X board exams for CCE did better in Class 12

The first ever analysis of how students have performed in Class XII boards after the Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE) format came into effect across CBSE schools shows that students who chose to skip the 2011 board exams have, in their 2013 Class XII boards, outperformed those who appeared for boards in Class X.

A CCE report released by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) on four years of implementation of the novel evaluation methodology says that “students who skipped the board’s Class X exams have done better — both in terms of high marks and mean marks”.

The CCE was introduced in 2009 and, in 2011, CBSE — that is followed by over 10,000 schools across the country — made Class X board exams optional in a bid to decrease stress levels among students and to usher in a more rounded evaluation technique. Many protested, arguing that this would relax academic rigour in the school system.

As the CBSE report notes, the data will put to rest fears of parents, teachers and other stakeholders about the CCE system, as the first batch of students to miss out on Class X boards had not just scored high in their first public exam but also increased the pass rate by more than 2 per cent.

The report shows that the pass percentage in Class X board exams of 2013 was 98.76 per cent, a big jump from the 88.84 per cent figure in 2009 (when the CCE was not in force).

The bigger story lies in the Class XII board exam figures. In 2013, as many as 19.44 per cent of the students who had opted for school-based exams instead of boards in their Class X scored over 80 per cent in Class XII. In contrast, 17.40 per cent of the students who had taken Class X boards could score over 80 per cent.

On the other end of the spectrum, while 8.43 per cent students who had opted for boards in Class X scored less than 40 per cent in Class XII, the figure was 6.84 per cent for those who skipped the boards.

The overall pass percentage in Class XII Boards also rose, from 82 per cent in 2012 to 84 per cent in 2013.

CBSE Chairman Vineet Joshi said that apart from the improvement in overall performance, data showed that CCE was also clearly helping lower stress levels among students.

“While the CBSE helpline clocked in over 3,000 distress calls earlier, this year that figure is down to just 50-60. Our teacher surveys have also shown that 96 per cent of them have faith in the CCE system. A survey commissioned to MDI Gurgaon capturing views of all stakeholders — teachers, students, parents and academicians — too indicates a strong feeling that doing away with boards has been helpful and less stressful,” Joshi said.

An independent third-party assessment of CCE by Edcil — a government of India enterprise — has also shown that 82 per cent students are more involved in their studies with CCE, almost 60 per cent parents are satisfied with CCE, while 99 per cent school principals and 96 per cent teachers have faith in the system.